Chasing Butterflies
by doujinzii
Summary: Rin/Rei AU. Rei is a young man who obsessively collects butterflies. Rin is a postman who was recently assigned to Rei's neighborhood. What happens when these two meet for the first time? How will Rei's hoarding affect the relationship between them? Rating will eventually change to M.
1. Chapter 1

Guess who's back again! And this time, with a vengeance!

This is only my second fanfiction _ever_, but I am confident that it has a much deeper plot than my first work haha. The pairing may be a turn off for a few since it is relatively unpopular (I guess it's slash then?), but I hope the plot is enough to convince people to read it c: The idea honestly came to me at such a random moment, I was just in the car thinking 'what if Rin was a mailman?' and over a few days I added a bunch of other ideas together until voila! This fic was born.

I won't ramble too much, but I would just like to thank my wonderful beta Amelie Nockturne! Her feedback helped me out a lot with this chapter, so enjoy :)

* * *

**Title:** Chasing Butterflies  
**Author:** Me  
**Fandom:** Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club  
**Rating:** T (will later progress to M)  
**Pairing:** Rin/Rei  
**Summary:** Rin/Rei AU. Rei is a young man who obsessively collects butterflies. Rin is a postman who was recently assigned to Rei's neighborhood. What happens when these two meet for the first time? How will Rei's hoarding affect the relationship between them? Rating will eventually change to M.  
**Disclaimer:** These characters are not mine, and neither is the fandom they are from! All characters belong to their respective owners, I'm just using them to fulfill a plot bunny of mine.

* * *

_The sound of the front door could be heard opening and closing as the woman entered the home. In her hands was a large box, one that she held delicately. The distinct pitter-patter of footsteps could be heard down the hallway as a small boy with large red glasses and dark blue hair ran towards the woman. _

"_Mommy, mommy! Is it a new set that you got today?" questioned the child, so excited that he could barely keep still._

"_It sure is, Rei! And this time I brought three new cases!" the mother exclaimed, eager to set the heavy box down on the floor in the living room._

_Rei could only gasp and stare in awe as his mother opened the box, revealing three glass cases stacked on top of each other. In each display was a number of butterflies, each with its own exotic and intricate wing designs._

_As careful as a ten-year old could be, the boy picked up the case laying on top, holding it up so it was right in front of his face. There were six of the fragile insects inside, with varying hues of blue and green. After several minutes, he placed the case on the table, still admiring their beauty. _

"_The wingspans are all between four and five centimeters...and the bodies are a light brown instead of the typical black, not to mention each set of wings have ten to thirteen times the surface area as the body. If my theory is correct, then these species are from...Nicaragua?" Rei looked up to his mother to see if his reasoning was correct._

"_These were imported from Nicaragua just this morning," his mother confirmed. "And if you look closer"-she pointed to the antennae-"you'll also notice that the left antennae is shorter than the right, a characteristic native only to that region."_

_The boy's face lit up as he agreed with his mother's observations. "You're right!" He couldn't wait to look at each species in detail under his microscope in his room._

_His mother gazed lovingly at him as he peered at the other two cases in the box. She was glad her son shared her love of butterflies, something that managed to bring the two ever closer. _

_When she realized that he was prepared to stay in this spot for hours, she shooed him along to do his homework._

"_Don't worry, they'll be here when you're done," she promised. Rei pouted slightly, but knew his mother's word to be true. "Okay..." he acquiesced, turning around and heading upstairs to his room. His mother left the butterflies where they were, as she, too, headed to her room to do some work._

_The light from the window shone down on the cases until later in the evening when the pair sat down to the kitchen table, delightedly studying the butterflies under the microscope and giggling all the while._

* * *

The sound of the front door could be heard opening and closing as the young man entered the apartment. He carried a series of small boxes, trying and almost failing to balance them as he leaned against the front door. Easing down to the floor, he placed the boxes down, eager to rest his back and hands. He had just come from an antique shop a few blocks down the street where he found new figurines to add to his collection, but he needed to find space to put them.

With a spot in mind, Rei picked up the boxes and walked towards his room, being careful not to hit his head on the myriad of glass butterflies hanging from the ceiling. Light from a nearby window passed through the glass, showering the room in different shades of blue and purple. The figurines swayed lightly as wind entered the apartment, causing light clinking sounds to fill the entire residence.

He passed the dining room table, which was rarely ever used for its purpose as it was covered with butterfly mugs and cups. The coffee tables in the adjacent living room were the same, used only to house the ever growing collection of knick-knacks.

Rei swiftly used the tip of his foot to slide the door to his room open, and finally placed the boxes down in his "study."

The "study" in question had become more of a butterfly zoo, containing more than 1,000 figurines, menagerie, and knick-knacks.

He sat down on the floor, determined to sift through the contents of the room to find the perfect positions for his new found treasures. Next to him was the roster he used to keep track of all of his butterfly items. For the next few hours, he meticulously unloaded the boxes, made notes on his roster, and rearranged trinkets in his study.

* * *

By the time Rei was done, he was nearly starving. He made his way to the kitchen, carefully stepping over butterflies here and there.

He had accumulated so many butterflies over the years that some of them even took up space on the floor, after typical spots like shelves and tables were too full.

Following the path that he had marked in his head, he finally arrived at his refrigerator. He opened it, hastily picking past more butterflies to the leftovers from last night's dinner. Even reheated yakisoba noodles sounded good when his stomach was rumbling this loudly.

Just as he was about to put the container in the microwave, he remembered that it was full with various mugs that he acquired several months ago. It would be too much of a hassle to unload the microwave and reload it when he was done, so he settled for heating it up on the stove, the only place free of his invasive collection.

As he waited for the noodles to warm up, he headed to the sofa where his laptop was. Easing down on the couch to avoid the butterflies nestled there from falling over, he opened his laptop to check his favorite website: Amazon.

"I wonder if those butterfly decals are almost here..." he wondered aloud, clicking and typing away. Last week he found a set of crystal butterflies that he just had to have, and the shipping was next to nothing since they were just a few districts away from him.

It was five days late.

'Amazon says it's been in the city for the last five days...and Maurice hasn't come by at all either,' Rei thought to himself. Maurice had been his postman for the last six years, and he always delivered Rei's orders promptly. 'Maurice has never forgotten to give me something.'

He paused from browsing Amazon as he pushed up his glasses, thinking of all the different scenarios that could explain his current predicament. In the end, he could only come up with one concrete explanation.

The post office lost his package.

* * *

"Seijuurou, you've got to be fucking kidding me."

"Hey, shark boy, watch your language. And call me boss. And I'm being totally 100% serious with you."

"Tch. Why can't any of the other guys on the team do it?"

"Several reasons. One—I'm team manager, so I get paid to tell who what to do and when to do it. Two—All of the other guys are busy with their routes. And three—you've been slacking off lately. Someone has to pick up old man Maurice's work now that he decided to retire. You fit the bill."

Rin was pissed. He was already working three different routes, and to add another one on top of that would just be a pain in the ass. It was a struggle just covering his bases as it was, and taking the extra load won't make things any easier.

"Look, Seijuurou—"

"Glad you accepted the job, Rin!" the taller man exclaimed, clapping Rin harshly on his shoulder. Rin was going to refuse once more, but the menacing look on the manager's face told him to keep his mouth shut for once.

With a sigh of defeat, Rin mumbled, "When do I start?"

"Good to see you so pumped about this!" Seijuurou said with an upbeat tone. "You start the new route tomorrow, but you'll have to squeeze it between routes 1ADF and 1AWR." With that last bit of news, the "boss" slipped away, whistling all the while.

'Ahh, perfect,' Rin thought. Seijuurou had been riding his ass for the last few weeks, only for him to have _more_ work...'It's a perfect shit-storm, like I actually need this—"

"Matsuoka-senpai?"

Rin nearly bit his tongue, but as he swiveled around he realized it was only Nitori, the guy who worked over in sorting. He quickly recovered his calm in a matter of seconds.

"Oh, Nitori, it's just you. And I told you to stop calling me that."

"Sorry, you just seemed really upset...is everything okay?" questioned Nitori. The guy could be irritating at times, but Rin felt at least a little warm since he was worried about him and all.

"Yeah, I'm good. I have to go start my routes for the day, so I'll see you later."

"O-oh, okay. Good luck senpai!" Nitori said with a wave.

"Stop calling me senpai!" Rin shouted tersely as he headed to his truck. The chart that kept track of the neighborhoods he covered had been updated, and he wanted to know what kind of area he had to deliver to for tomorrow.

'Iwatobi Lake Apartments...' he mumbled to himself. This particular neighborhood was one of the largest in this part of the city, full of pretty decent apartments as he remembers. He had a friend who lived there once, but all he knew was that the community pool was amazing.

'I guess it could've been worse,' he thought. But Rin was sure that the packages normally delivered by Maurice had been backlogged, so he'd have to make up for it the next day by working overtime. He could only thank whatever forces that he only delivered packages instead of regular mail, or he'd be fucked.

"Rin, what are you doing? You were supposed to be on the streets five minutes ago!" Seijuurou's voice startled him from his thoughts.

"Shit! My bad, I'm leaving now." He threw the chart in the truck, and quickly checked the back to make sure all the packages were loaded properly. With one final glance over, he hopped in the driver's seat and hastily backed out of the building to start his deliveries for the day.

* * *

One chapter down, and unknown amount to go! Hopefully that was good enough to get started, but there's still a lot more to cover. I only have the first few chapters of this written, but I estimate that the final product will be around 20 chapters~~

With my previous story I waited until I had a set number of reviews before I posted the next chapter, and I think that I'll keep that in place for now :P Just one review would be nice! The second chapter is already completed and ready to be uploaded! See you then~


	2. Chapter 2

**haruxchan:** Oh I'm glad! I love this ship as well, but there's not nearly enough fanfiction or fanart for it as Mako/Haru or Rei/Nagi, and that's part of the reason I felt inspired to write this story. I hope you enjoy, I have a lot left in store with these two :)

Alas, chapter two is here! Thanks again to my wonderful beta, Amelie Nockturne, who made this chapter a lot easier for me to read :D I also one to thank my friend Bryan, who although is slightly disturbed by my fascination with yaoi, was a great help with minor details. Enjoy this chapter c:

* * *

**Title:** Chasing Butterflies  
**Author:** Me  
**Fandom:** Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club  
**Rating:** T (will later progress to M)  
**Pairing:** Rin/Rei  
**Summary:** Rin/Rei AU. Rei is a young man who obsessively collects butterflies. Rin is a postman who was recently assigned to Rei's neighborhood. What happens when these two meet for the first time? How will Rei's hoarding affect the relationship between them? Rating will eventually change to M.  
**Disclaimer:** These characters are not mine, and neither is the fandom they are from! All characters belong to their respective owners, I'm just using them to fulfill a plot bunny of mine.

* * *

One of the only things Rei loved more than butterflies was sleep. He didn't always get enough of it since he had items to collect and things to organize that usually kept him up late at night, but he always found other times to make up for it.

Despite this, he rarely slept in, because he would be wasting time better spent looking for more butterflies to add to his collection. That's why he always set his butterfly clock to wake him up at 9:00 a.m. every morning, even on the weekends.

Or so he thought.

Rei was sleeping peacefully until he heard someone yell "REI-CHANNNN!" and a loud succession of hard knocks on his front door. He jumped out of the bed and landed hard on his head, nearly causing the figurines on his nightstand to fall over.

'What the...' he mumbled, yawning and rubbing his head as he tried to get his bearings together. He was in the middle of having a great dream when he was rudely interrupted. He was just about to freak out until he heard the yelling and knocks at the door once more, followed by someone harshly shushing.

'Nagisa, you should lower your voice a bit, other tenants could still be sleeping!'

'But it's like one in the afternoon!'

Rei calmed down considerably as he realized the two voices outside his apartment. Shuffling across the floor, he lazily slid open the door to his bedroom and walked towards the front door, barely managing to avoid the butterflies he had lain on the floor in some spots. One quick glance through the peephole confirmed his suspicions.

Nagisa and Makoto, neighbors of his, had come over to visit him.

After slightly struggling with the doorknob (he was still half-asleep), he was greeted with a bear hug from Nagisa and an apologetic smile from Makoto.

"Rei-chaaannn, why did it take you so long to open the door? Do you not want to see me?" Nagisa pouted, but Rei knew the shorter boy was messing with him.

"Nagisa-kun, it's not nice to impose on Rei-chan, he was probably sleeping," Makoto chided lightly. Yeah, Rei's butterfly pajamas definitely meant he was still sleeping.

Rei motioned to push up his glasses, but realized too late that they were still on his bedside table. Quickly recovering, he said, "Nagisa-kun, I thought I told you to text or call me before you come visit!"

By this time, Nagisa had pointedly slipped past Rei to investigate his apartment, and after hearing the collector's words he replied, "But I only live across the street from you Rei-chan! And I did, but you didn't respond so I figured you were sleeping."

"Yet you still came over anyway?!"

"Yup! I wanted to be your wake-up call, and look—it worked!" Rei sputtered, already out of the energy he would need to continue bickering with Nagisa. It didn't bother him that much that they came over unannounced anyway, so he let it go.

"Fine, fine, just text me first next time." Nagisa nodded in agreement, gazing all around to look for any new butterflies that he hadn't seen before. Rei could only sigh at the boy, but he let Makoto in as he shut the front door.

"Sorry about Nagisa-kun, Rei...I bought some tea and octopus dumplings to make up for it. I could cook them if you'd like." Makoto held up the bag in his hand that Rei had just now realized was there. 'Well, I can't say no to that...' Rei thought, thanking Makoto and making his way to the bedroom to change into something more appropriate.

He opted to wear an orange button-up shirt with a purple cardigan over it and his favorite butterfly broach, along with some denim capris. Rei left his room to be welcomed by the smell of fresh dumplings, complimentary of Makoto and his superb cooking skills.

"It smells great out here," Rei commented, his mouth watering. He hadn't been in the mood for cooking in the last few days, so it was nice to have real food instead of leftovers.

With a smile, Makoto replied, "Thanks! I know how focused you can get on your...collection, so I thought I'd help you out. I would have used the microwave but..." On that note, he swiftly popped the dumplings out of the cooking container and placed them on the plate.

Rei was grateful to Makoto, but his disapproving tone didn't go unnoticed. He knew that Makoto had his qualms about his habits, but he couldn't just 'purge his collection.' Just the thought of getting rid of his precious items made him anxious...he quickly changed his train of thought, and let the remark go without comment.

"Rei-chan, are these coffee mugs new?" Nagisa asked, pointing to the cups he bought just last week.

With a smirk and a push of his glasses, Rei answered, "Fresh out the box as a matter of fact, Nagisa-kun. I found these gems at an antique shop an hour from here that specializes in handmade materials. Normally I wouldn't find such things beautiful, but if you look here"—he pointed to a series of intricate designs near the handles of one cup—"the patterns are one of a kind. Under no other circumstances could they ever be replicated, not under normal conventions...that's where their true beauty lies."

Nagisa was amazed. In contrast to Makoto, he absolutely enjoyed Rei's collection. In his eyes, very few things were better than hearing Rei talk about the differences between each piece he collected, or the glint in his eyes when he found a new figurine he's never seen before.

"Wow..." breathed the smaller boy, taking in all the details. He could've listened to Rei talk like this all day, but he remembered how hungry he was when Makoto finally let them know the dumplings were finished.

* * *

"So, Rei, what ever happened to those new decals that you were gushing to me about last week?" Makoto questioned. He couldn't notice anything new on the walls, so he guessed something went wrong.

"Apparently they're a little late...they were supposed to be delivered six days ago."

"Ehh?! That's not like Maurice at all, he's never been late with a delivery before!" Nagisa couldn't hide his astonishment, not when he knew how prompt Maurice was.

"Well, if my theories are correct, he's not the reason why they're late. I think there's a small mixup at the post office," said Rei.

"What is it?" asked Makoto. It would be odd to have the post office mess up when Rei always had parcels being delivered to his apartment.

"They probably misplaced my package, but I'm not sure. Whatever it is, I hope they rectify the situation quickly and deliver my decals soon," Rei chastised, pushing up his glasses with a slight frown on his face.

"But Rei-chan, what if this package is special and they're gonna have someone different deliver it?" wondered the blond.

"This package isn't any different from the ones I usually order, so I doubt that. Plus Maurice's track record is way too good for them to just move him over to the side," reasoned Rei.

"Well if what I think happened actually happened, I hope the new guy is hot."

Rei could only blush and sputter at that. "N-Nagisa-kun!"

"What? It's common knowledge that while Maurice is a great mailman, he's not very good eye candy," said Nagisa matter-of-factly.

Even Makoto had to agree with that. "It _would_ be nice to have someone slightly more attractive, especially with the uniform..."

Nagisa jumped up with a start. "Oooh, I can just imagine it!" The blond grabbed a nearby box and struck a pose. With his eyes focused on Rei, he said, seductively, "Sorry, I know I'm not your usual mailman and that I'm late, but I just had this massive package to handle."

"..."

Without any warning, Rei burst into a laughing fit, tears streaming down his face. He was soon joined by Makoto and Nagisa, with the latter rolling on the floor.

However, their laughter was quickly interrupted when the doorbell sounded through Rei's apartment.

* * *

To say that Rin had a rough day was an understatement. His first day with the extra route proved to be exhausting for him, a day where Murphy's Law was in full effect.

It seemed like every obstacle that could possibly prevent him from doing his job decided today would be the perfect time to do so.

The first sector of the day went off without a hitch, so Rin thought the rest of the day would pass just as smoothly. But, boy, was he wrong.

Some of the packages for the second area he had to cover got all mixed up somehow, so he had to stop and take time out of _his_ job to do what was supposed to be _Nitori's_ job (and whoever else worked in sorting). Once that was delivered, the front left wheel on his truck busted ('fucking piece of shit'), which meant he had to use one of the loner trucks that the company kept around ('more of a fucking piece of shit').

One tenant in the third neighborhood refused to sign for the package, claiming that he 'never ordered from for anything,' and almost every tenant in the new apartment complex he had to cover wouldn't stop asking him about Maurice's whereabouts.

All in all, he was so glad to be done with his job that he even pulled the truck into the postal services building with a small smile on his face.

That is, until Seijuurou confronted him as he was about to turn in his keys.

"Got some bad news for you sharkboy."

'For chrissakes...' Rin pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed for the millionth time that day. "What is it now, Se—Boss?"

"Inspection somehow let a package slip through the cracks for almost a week. It needs to be delivered today."

'You've got to be—'

'Jesus fucking—'

"Fine, fine. Where's the goddamn parcel?" Rin ground out, nearly yelling. However, he had to catch his breath when Seijuurou handed him a rather heavy box, which he quickly placed on the ground. "What the hell is in here anyway?" he asked.

As Seijuurou flipped through the packet in his hand, he answered, "I'm not sure, it only says it contains glass, so handle with care. Well"—Seijuurou slapped his shoulder—"you can get on your way now! I'm sure the recipient has been waiting patiently."

"Hn. I'll be back," he said gruffly, carrying the box as he headed to his truck, _again_. The package only had to be delivered to the new apartment complex on his route, so at least it wasn't too far out. Rin slid the box onto the floor next to the passenger seat, sitting in the driver's seat and taking off for hopefully the last time that day.

* * *

"Rei-chan, you didn't tell us you were inviting other people over!" Nagisa said with a slight whine.

"I didn't..." Rei said, rising from his seat to cautiously check the peephole in his front door. After a few seconds, he abruptly jumped back from the door, covering his mouth with his hand as a light blush began to blanket his cheeks.

"What's wrong, Rei? Who's at the door?" Makoto asked, visibly concerned.

"It's a guy, and he has a package in his hand, b-but he doesn't look right..." he trailed off, still staring intensely at the door. Before Makoto or Nagisa, could question what he meant, he hurriedly opened the door and stepped outside, closing it behind him.

* * *

Oooh, who could the mystery guy be? XD You'll have to wait for the next chapter! Two review would be nice too...


	3. Chapter 3

**Butter:** Thanks for the feedback! I know that I probably didn't describe his apartment well enough, but when I say that he has his collection in any space available, I mean that in the most organized way you can imagine. He just has so much stuff that he's running out of space haha. Sorry about the Makoto thing, I didn't do much research before I started writing but thanks for the tip about his lack of cooking skills! And I apologize for any spelling/grammar errors, along with OOCness, but I don't have much experience writing fanfiction so this stuff is bound to pop up. Even my beta and I can't catch all the errors XD Hope this chapter is better, but I would love feedback on this one too! :)

And here is chapter 3! I hope everyone enjoys it, but I am a novice at this kind of writing so try to bear with my spelling, grammar, and characterization errors :/ But I would like to thank my amazing beta Amelie Nockturne once more, she really is great!

* * *

**Title:** Chasing Butterflies  
**Author:** Me  
**Fandom:** Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club  
**Rating:** T (will later progress to M)  
**Pairing:** Rin/Rei  
**Summary:** Rin/Rei AU. Rei is a young man who obsessively collects butterflies. Rin is a postman who was recently assigned to Rei's neighborhood. What happens when these two meet for the first time? How will Rei's hoarding affect the relationship between them? Rating will eventually change to M.  
**Disclaimer:** These characters are not mine, and neither is the fandom they are from! All characters belong to their respective owners, I'm just using them to fulfill a plot bunny of mine.

* * *

Rin was a little freaked out. He had arrived at the apartment where the package was supposed to be delivered, and the door and windows to the place were almost buried under stickers.

Butterfly stickers.

'Alright, that's weird, but I've seen weirder,' Rin thought to himself. 'So, this person really likes butterflies. Not a big deal.'

He proceeded to maintain his cool, even when he could clearly hear voices whispering in the apartment without someone coming to open the door. Fine, that's alright, he could wait patiently.

Turns out he didn't have to wait too long, though. Before he could really register what was happening, the door to the apartment opened and closed in a matter of seconds, and Rin was face to face with the owner of the residence.

He then made a few observations.

One, the person standing in front of him was a guy—or at least looked like one—meaning that this is a guy who likes butterflies a little too much. This point was further proved by his second observation, which was the fact that said guy was wearing a rather large butterfly broach on his cardigan.

However, the third observation was perhaps the most important one, the one that made Rin forget how to breathe for a little bit, the one that made a small blush dust his cheeks and neck.

This guy was extremely attractive.

He had dark blue hair that complimented his eyes, although the orbs had a tint of violet in them. They were framed by red square glasses, and as Rin let his eyes rove over the rest of the guy as he took a step back, he could tell that the man worked out too. 'Even better,' he thought to himself with an inward smirk. As much as he would love to look at this guy for the rest of the day, he came here for a reason, plus he didn't want to creep the guy out.

"Sorry. Are you"—he checked the name on the box—"Ryugazaki Rei?" he noted that the man's name was a little on the feminine side, just like his. Interesting.

It took Rei a little while to respond—Rin noticed he was staring intently at his teeth—but when he did, he said, "Ah y-yes, that's me," stammering a little bit as he slowly pushed up his glasses.

"Well, I have a package here for you, but I need your signature first." Rin pulled out the electronic mail pad from his utility belt and handed it to Rei.

As the blue-haired man signed the pad, he said, "You know, this package is awfully late. It was supposed to be here a week ago, and—actually, where is Maurice anyway?"

It only took a few seconds for Rin to feel annoyed with Rei, and it only happened the second time he opened his mouth. 'Great, just when I thought I would like this guy.'

"Maurice retired, and I'm his replacement. Your parcel's late because the guys from the inspection department don't know how to do—my bad for the language—their fucking job. It's not my problem since I only deliver, so if you want someone to go complain to then take it to the main postal office building twenty minutes from here. Otherwise, I can carry this package into your apartment."

Rei was speechless, saying nothing as the man with unbelievably sharp teeth picked the box of his new decals up from the ground and proceeded to open the door.

But Rei jumped in front of him, closing the door once more. He was proud of his butterfly collection, and there's no way he'd be embarrassed to show it to anyone, but...he knew that strangers usually misjudged the purpose of his figurines because they didn't understand.

The mailman was giving him a real confused look that soon turned into one of annoyance, so he quickly covered his bases by saying, "That's okay, I can handle the box. There are fragile items in there anyway, so I'd rather carry it myself." He hoped that lame explanation was enough to get the guy to back off.

Unfortunately, he was the persistent type. With an arched eyebrow, Rin said, "I've been delivering fragile packages for a while, so I think I can handle it. Besides, it's my job." He was starting to get a little frustrated with the guy now—all he wanted to do was drop off this heavy ass box and get on his way, but no, it couldn't be that simple. He tried to push his way through, but _Rei_ stopped him again and this time he took the box right out of his hands.

'Damn, this box is heavier than I thought.' Rei was struggling, his muscles nearly screaming for him to get over how his apartment looked and let the deliveryman bring in the box for him but he couldn't give in, not when he was the one who started this whole thing. As long as his pride was at stake, he had to keep up the act until the guy left.

"S-see? I have the package, so you don't have to worry about it. You can—"he fixed his grip on the box—"you can leave now."

Rin could obviously tell the guy was struggling, but hey, it really wasn't his problem anymore. He checked his watch, and after seeing the time decided to let the guy do what he wanted with the box. "Alright, but I'm not responsible for any damage to the contents. Have a nice day," he said tersely, lightly jogging back to his truck and pulling out of the complex in no time.

When he couldn't see the mail truck anymore, Rei did his best to gently drop the box onto the ground, stretching his muscles and catching his breath. He didn't hear anything crack, so he hoped none of the decorations were broken. 'That was a close one,' he thought, satisfied with himself for preventing the man from seeing his apartment.

He opened his front door, sliding the heavy package towards the living room in front of his couch. Once he sat down in a chair, only a few moments passed before Nagisa pestered him with questions.

"Ooh was that a new mailman Rei-chan? How did he look? Was he cute, was he?" Rei chose not to acknowledge the shorter boy's questions as he thought of a safe way to answer them without arousing suspiscion.

Because saying, 'My new mailman is the most beautiful creature I've ever seen' would definitely cause a ruckus, from both him AND Makoto.

He decided to simply push up his glasses and reply, "He was alright I suppose. It was hard to look at his face when I was so distracted by his abnormally sharp teeth." Well, at least that was partially true.

"Sharp teeth? That is weird..." said Makoto, a little confused. "Did he mention anything about Maurice?"

"He said that he retired..." Rei answered, lamenting over his previous mailman. He was glad that his package wasn't lost, but he was missing Maurice already, especially now that the new guy seemed like he could go off at any second.

"I had no idea he was that old!" exclaimed Nagisa. He seemed sad for a moment, but quickly perked up as he cheerfully asked, "Does this mean that the hot delivery man will be visiting my apartment too?"

"Yeah, I guess he would since we are in the same neighborhood. And I never said he was hot!" Rei asserted.

"True, but you had such a look on your face when you came in that you might as well have," Makoto teased, smiling as Nagisa giggled.

Rei could only blush, thinking of anything to say that would redeem himself but coming up short. In the end, he settled for directing their attention to his computer, hoping that showing them new items that he ordered online would serve as a distraction.

* * *

After a few more hours, Makoto and Nagisa left Rei's apartment with promises to come visit again in the future. He was glad they had come over today, it was always refreshing to talk to them in person every once in a while. He was even in a fairly good mood because his decals had finally arrived, although he wasn't expecting the mailman that delivered them.

As he took each decoration of their containers, he thought back to the new guy who was supposedly replacing Maurice. 'I wonder what his name is,' he thought ruefully. Rei almost regretted that he didn't get the guy's name, but he realized he would have a chance to ask the next time he ordered something for his apartment.

Reading through the directions carefully, he applied adhesive solution to the backs of the decorations, and thought momentarily about where to place each one. However, his thoughts quickly traveled back to the sharp-toothed redhead from earlier today.

'He did look good in that uniform.' He blushed lightly, embarrassed that he could even think something like that. If Nagisa could read his mind, the younger boy would tease him for days.

Rei shook his head, attempting to focus on the task at hand. The new mailman wouldn't be going anywhere, and these new wall decorations were way more important. He stuck the first one on the wall, the others joining them as the minutes passed by.

* * *

"I don't think it was that weird. If you showed up to my doorstep I wouldn't want you let you in either."

"I'm being serious here! What kind of guy doesn't let the delivery guy do his job? It couldn't have just been my teeth."

"With all due respect, Matsuoka-senpai, your appearance is very...distracting."

"You guys are no help." Rin had gotten back to the building after dropping off the misplaced package, and the entire encounter had left him confused. Just the fact that the guy wouldn't let him in the apartment was enough to bother him for the rest of the day.

And, of course, confiding in Seijuurou and Nitori only served to make him _slightly_ self-conscious about his teeth and red hair (yes, the drapes match the curtains).

"It's really not that big of a deal, though. Plenty of people I deliver to are antsy about people seeing their houses too, it's actually pretty common." Seijuurou couldn't quite understand why Rin would freak out over something so trivial.

"Yeah senpai, the captain is right! I'm sure there's nothing for you to worry about." Nitori didn't want Rin to get tripped up over this either.

"Wait, I'm the boss, so why do you only call him senpai?!"

"S-sorry captain! I just thought it would be more appropriate to call you that since you are the captain..."

"Will you two shut up?" Rin seemed annoyed by their playful banter, but in reality it put his mind at ease. He was probably worrying a little too much about Rei not letting him in his apartment...'and now I'm on a first-name basis with him. Great. Maybe it's because he has a girly name too?'

Rin's thoughts were interrupted however when Seijuurou called out to him, saying, "Oi, Matsuoka! Did you hear what I said?"

"Ahh, no. I actually think I'm gonna head out, Gou's probably been expecting me."

Seijuurou perked up at that. "Oh, your sister, who's still in college? Tell her I said hi," he said, smirking and blushing at the same time.

"I will do no such thing."

"Oh, come on!"

"Alright, I'm leaving now. See you later, Seijuurou, Nitori." Rin was quick to get out of there, he had a busy day after all and he didn't have the energy to deal with his boss' creepy crush on his sister. With a small salute to Nitori who was waving dutifully as he walked away, Rin hopped on his bike and rode away towards his loft in the city.

* * *

(⊃‿⊂) ⊂(⋂ヮ⋂)⊃ How was that? XD This chapter might be iffy since it's the first time Rin and Rei actually interact, but I hope it was decent, but it is only their first out of several meetings I have planned (0 3 0) the story may seem slow moving but I have a pretty good idea of where I want it to go, so stay tuned! Chapter 4 should be uploaded by sometime early next week. Until then ( ﾟ∀ﾟ)


	4. Chapter 4

*accidentally posts new chapter late*

Sorry about that everyone! I was a little busy :P anyway here's the new chapter, I would like to thank my awesome beta Amelie Nockturne once more because she's great!

**haruxchan:** SeijuurouxGou is one of my favorite ships from free, but I never thought about actively writing about them in this story. I want to focus on Rin and Rei as much as possible, but I will drop hints here and there about them, as well as any other mystery ships in the story as well :)

* * *

**Title:** Chasing Butterflies  
**Author:** Me  
**Fandom:** Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club  
**Rating:** T (will later progress to M)  
**Pairing:** Rin/Rei  
**Summary:** Rin/Rei AU. Rei is a young man who obsessively collects butterflies. Rin is a postman who was recently assigned to Rei's neighborhood. What happens when these two meet for the first time? How will Rei's hoarding affect the relationship between them? Rating will eventually change to M.  
**Disclaimer:** These characters are not mine, and neither is the fandom they are from! All characters belong to their respective owners, I'm just using them to fulfill a plot bunny of mine.

* * *

"_Thank you for reaching Amazon, where we pride ourselves on providing great service with a smile. Please state your reason for calling."_

"Customer support."

"_Rerouting your call to a live customer service representative. Please standby for a few moments."_

Rei tapped his foot lightly as he waited for the rep to pick up the phone.

There had been yet another mishap when he ordered from Amazon just a few days ago. Except, this time, he luckily avoided an awkward encounter with his new delivery man since the guy decided to leave his package _outside on his front door step_.

He had just stepped out to the supermarket down the street, a little less than happy to find a big box in front of his door. Although he doubted anyone would steal it, he would have preferred if the guy had delivered it while he was here. 'Maybe it's my fault for not letting him in my apartment...'

Besides that, everything had seemed perfectly fine...until he opened the box.

Inside were supposed to be a set of six wine glasses, decorated with butterflies (Rei already owned similar glasses, but he couldn't resist the promise of free shipping and a 20% discount on his order). He had just enough space on top of his china cabinet to place them, which was all the more reason to order them.

He was heartbroken to discover that every single last glass was broken or cracked to the point where the only place they could go was the trash. But before he dumped the box, he took a picture to use as a reference so he could get a replacement set sent to him again, which was why he was on the phone trying to get a hold of Amazon customer service.

"_Name please?"_ The voice on the other end of the line startled him from his thoughts.

"Ryugazaki Rei."

"_Okay Ryugazaki-san, this is Hamuri-san speaking, how can I help you today?"_

"I'm calling to see if I can get the same product I ordered sent to me. The one I received was damaged heavily."

"_Oh wow, I'm sorry to hear that. What store from Amazon did you order this package from?"_

"...B-butterfly boutique."

"_Okay. Confirmation number?"_

"5MSJ3858FHD5."

"_Oh, this is interesting. It seems that the store who sent the package requested for it to be checked for broken pieces at several checkpoints due to its fragile nature. The last checkpoint was at a postal office called—Samezuka Postal Services Corporation."_

Rei quickly recognized that as the name of the postal building just twenty minutes from his house. 'If the glasses were in peak condition when they arrived at that building, then that means—'

"_I'm sorry, Ryugazaki-san, but Amazon and its affiliated shops and companies only offer refunds and exchanges free of charge when we are held liable for damaged goods. I cannot legally offer you a replacement package, so you will have to order another one yourself. However, if you contact the post office, they should offer some form of compensation since they are at fault. I just emailed a copy of the checkpoint status reports to you, which you can use to prove the postal company was responsible for the damage."_

"Oh, thank you, I appreciate it." Figures he couldn't get a replacement at no cost...

"_No problem! Have a nice day."_ Once the line went dead, Rei hung up the phone, getting increasingly frustrated with his new mailman and all the strings that came attached. He just wanted his stuff delivered on time and in one piece, but maybe that was a bit much to ask for. 'Missing Maurice more and more...' he lamented.

His phone vibrated to alert him to a new email, probably the one that Hamuri-san sent him so he could file a complaint with the post office. Rei checked his watch—it was only 11:30 in the morning, perfect time to go stand in line for a few hours...'maybe I should bring Nagisa-kun along to keep me company.'

He shoved his phone in his pants pocket as he grabbed a cardigan from his closet, and walked out the front door to Nagisa's apartment across the street.

* * *

"Rei-chan, do you want to play another game of I-Spy?"

"Not really. We've already played twice since we've stood here."

"But it's so boring! I wish we were doing something fun instead..."

'You and me both,' Rei thought. He and Nagisa had been in line at the post office for an hour, trying to talk to someone about the mishandling of his package (no pun intended). The line had been longer than Rei expected, but he felt it would be worth it in the end.

The line finally shifted forward a bit, but they still had a way to go, and Rei could feel his patience waning. Nagisa gazed at him from the corner of his eye, until a light bulb went off in his head.

"Hey, Rei-chan, you said we're only standing in line because your glasses got broken, right?"

"Yeah, the woman from Amazon customer service said that it was most likely damaged while in was en-route to my apartment."

"Which means that the new delivery guy is the one who broke it, right?"

"Yes, according to my theory and the receipts...why do you ask?" Rei was wondering where the shorter boy was going with this.

Nagisa shrugged his shoulders at that. "I was just thinking that maybe there's a better way to solve your problem, hypothetically speaking."

Now Rei's interest was piqued. He quirked an eyebrow as he reluctantly said, "Go on..."

"Well, we have proof that the new guy is the one who broke your stuff. Why don't we just go and ask him to reimburse you, as a personal favor and all?"

Rei considered it for a moment. "Say I do agree to go ask him in person. How would we find him? I don't know his name, plus there's no guarantee that he's even here. It would make more sense for him to be out making deliveries."

Nagisa paused in deep thought for a moment. "Well, I guess you're right again Rei-chan. Looks like we'll just have to stand in line all day..." he droned, turning his body forward and taking on an 'oh-well' pose. He glanced at the blue-haired man expectantly, knowing that he would give in at any moment.

Rei was weighing his options. The both of them had been at the post office for an hour already but they still had a long way to go before they reached the counters...Nagisa's idea seemed to be the best bet.

Just as he was about to voice his decision, a moving delivery truck outside caught his attention. It seemed vaguely familiar, and as he peered out of the window, he saw the unmistakable red hair.

Nagisa came beside him to see what he was looking at, but the truck had already pulled into the back of the building. "What are you looking at Rei-chan? Did you see the hot mailman?"

"I did—"Rei caught himself. "Yes, I saw the new mailman. Now how do we go about getting to the back of the building where the trucks are?" He was already stepping out of line and walking out of the door as he asked his question.

A mischievous glint appeared in Nagisa's eyes. "Just leave that to me, Rei-chan."

* * *

"Nagisa-chan, you can't be serious! I'm not supposed to answer personal calls while I'm on the job, and if my captain catches you, he won't show me any mercy..."

"Please, Ai-chan, it's just this once! Besides, if we happen to get caught, I won't mention your name at all!" Nagisa pleaded.

With a sigh, Nitori said, "Okay, okay, I'll help you! Just be quick, and try not to be seen, okay?" Nitori knew the captain would not be happy if he found out he had allowed non-employees into the back of the building...

"Thank you so much Ai-chan! But before we get back there, we need to know the name of that new delivery guy that replaced Maurice. Do you know him?"

"Of course! That's Matsuoka Rin-senpai. He has red hair and sharp teeth, right?"

Nagisa checked with Rei to confirm. "Yeah, that's him! Is he still back there? We saw him pull in just a few minutes ago."

Nitori took the phone away from his ear as he checked the loading dock behind him. Rin was just starting to unpack leftover packages from his truck. "Yes, he's still there. Now would be the best time to talk to him, the captain isn't around and he looks like he's in a good mood. You can just walk around the back to his truck."

"Thanks again Ai-chan. I owe you a big one!"

"Oh, it's fine Nagisa-chan. Good luck." Nitori could only expel a shaky breath as he returned to his earlier work.

* * *

"Good news Rei-chan! Ai-chan says we can go right around the back," Nagisa said happily, beginning to drag Rei along with him.

Rei pushed up his glasses, a little uneasy at how this seemed to magically work out. "I didn't know you had a friend that worked in the post office. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I didn't think about it until we were standing in line," he casually replied.

Rei was still a little suspicious though. "Why are you going through so much effort to get me to talk to this..._Rin_-san? It can't just be that you didn't like standing in line."

The blond didn't miss a beat. "Well, it's true that I don't like standing in line, but I also want to see _Rin-chan_'s face. Your reaction from first meeting him was so strong, he must be cute!"

Rei blushed profusely. "Nagisa-kun—!" His retort died on his lips as he and Nagisa rounded the corner, his eyes immediately falling on the beautiful ('I can't believe I'm even thinking he's beautiful,' Rei thought to himself) delivery man.

Without warning, Nagisa came to a halt, nearly causing Rei to bump into him. He then quickly turned around, grabbed Rei lightly on the shoulder and pushed him towards his target. "You got this Rei-chan! I'll be waiting for you when you're done!"

"Ehh?" Now Rei was a little nervous, even though he had brewed over it for the last few hours...but the guy seemed like he had a bit of a short fuse, if their first encounter was any proof of that. 'Just stay calm...'

With a final push of his glasses, Rei attempted to nonchalantly walk towards the redhead. When he reached the back of the truck, he swallowed a gulp of air and loudly cleared his voice to get the other man's attention.

"E-Excuse me, Matsuoka-san?" he said tentatively.

Rin stopped what he was doing to turn around, startled by the person he found behind him. He changed his face to mask his surprise, instantly recognizing that dark blue hair. "Yeah?" he responded, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow.

Rei swallowed again. "I don't know if you remember me, but I'm—"

"Rei. Yeah, I recognize you," interrupted Rin as he jumped from the edge of the inside of his truck to the ground. "You live over in the Iwatobi apartments, right?"

Rei took a few steps back. "Uh, yeah, I do." Rei's throat was a little too dry for comfort. 'Stay calm, stay calm..!'

While he was trying to relax, a few seconds passed before it was Rin's turn to clear his throat. "Well..?" he drawled.

Rei snapped out of the relaxation mantra in his head. "Oh! Right. I actually came here to ask about the package you had delivered to my house earlier today..." he said, fishing his phone out of his pocket to find the picture he had taken.

"What about it?" Rin wanted to know where this was going, and he hoped this guy—this really _hot_ guy—was just making trouble for him.

"Well"—Rei handed Rin his phone—"the box you had placed outside my door had some glasses in it, and they were broken when I opened them." He waited patiently for a response, fidgeting with his glasses all the while.

'Shit shit shit shit shit,' Rin thought. He thought the contents would be okay after that one sharp turn into the complex, but apparently he was wrong. 'Maybe I can still play it off,' he wondered.

"It sucks that your glasses got broken and all, but this doesn't prove that I'm the one who broke them." Rin motioned to hand the phone back over, but Rei held up his hand.

"Slide your finger to the right."

As Rin did so, he came across the checkpoint status receipts, immediately recognizing the last one that he signed. 'Looks like there's no getting out of this one,' he thought bitterly.

"I take it that's proof enough for you?" Rei questioned. He couldn't help the small smirk that graced his lips, the evidence was too great for _Rin_ to deny it now. 'I have him right where I want him.'

Rin didn't let Rei's reaction go unnoticed. "Okay, so I guess I mishandled your package a little. You obviously want more than an admission from me, right, four-eyes?"

'This guy has some nerve,' Rei thought to himself, his smirk faltering a bit. Rin could only laugh as he waited for 'four-eyes' to make his demands.

"You are correct, shark teeth," Rei said gallantly with another push up of his glasses. "I came here to personally ask you to reimburse me, since you are obviously at fault."

"What the hell makes you think I would do that?" Rin could only think, 'Wow, this guy has some balls.'

Rei visibly scrunched his face, slightly bothered by Rin's choice words, but he didn't let it distract him; he had the clear advantage here. "Because, you seem like the type of guy to slack off when you're working. Because I'm sure this isn't your first infraction. Because I'm sure your manager would love to hear about your carelessness." Rei ended his small speech by arrogantly crossing his arms over his chest. 'No doubt about it...I have him right where I want him.'

Rin just stared back at Rei, making sure not to break eye contact. He was more uncomfortable than he was willing to admit about how accurate Rei's observations were, but he would never let the blue-haired man know it. For now, until he thought of something to say, he would settle for quietly intimidating him.

Once again, Rin found it hard to keep his eyes on Rei's face, despite how enticing he found it to be. He didn't have to worry about that for too long, however, when Rei abruptly diverted his eyes. Rin took the chance to quickly grove over the other's body once more, licking his lips. He moved his eyes back to Rei's face just in time to realized that he was being checked out as well.

'Hmm, seems like four-eyes has a thing for me,' Rin commented internally, coming to a quick decision. "Okay, four-eyes, say I do agree to"—he used his hands to make air quotes—"'reimburse you.' How much would I have to pay?"

Rei was astonished that Rin seemed to be going along with it, so much so that it took a little while for him to process his words. "Forty bucks should suffice." Rei did get free shipping and a discount on the order, after all.

"Tch. Alright, fine, the money is yours...but only under one condition."

"What do you want?"

Rin smirked, the first semblance of a smile that Rei had seen from him. He even took a moment to appreciate it, noticing that he looked much better when he was smiling.

But that moment was cut short when the next words left Rin's mouth.

"Let me take you out."

* * *

And so it begins. Reviews are always welcome, and I hope this chapter was worth the wait! Chapter 5 will be up in about a week. Until then :D


	5. Chapter 5

**MAYMGirl:** Reigisa is my otp but I find myself indulging in this pairing a lot more often that I used to! I'm glad you took a chance and that you're happy with what I'm writing c:

Chapter 5 is here! Sorry to everyone who has been waiting on this chapter, it's been two weeks since I last updated and I said I would try to update once a week so really sorry about that! I randomly got ideas for other fics (which I suggest you all take a look at if you are in the kamigami no asobi fandom c:) and when I had motivation to write those stories, I encountered writer's block for this one. But no worries! It came back with a vengeance, especially after the premiere of free! eternal summer :D anyway, thanks to my wonderful beta Amelia Nockturne as usual, and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! I really like this one :)

* * *

**Title:** Chasing Butterflies  
**Author:** Me  
**Fandom:** Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club  
**Rating:** T (will later progress to M)  
**Pairing:** Rin/Rei  
**Summary:** Rin/Rei AU. Rei is a young man who obsessively collects butterflies. Rin is a postman who was recently assigned to Rei's neighborhood. What happens when these two meet for the first time? How will Rei's hoarding affect the relationship between them? Rating will eventually change to M.  
**Disclaimer:** These characters are not mine, and neither is the fandom they are from! All characters belong to their respective owners, I'm just using them to fulfill a plot bunny of mine.

* * *

"Let me take you out."

Rei couldn't believe his ears. He thought of all the different scenarios that could have occurred when he confronted Rin, but this...this definitely caught him off guard.

He must've shown it on his face, because the smirk Rin was wearing stretched just a hair wider.

_'Calm down, Rei, calm down,'_ Rei told himself, but he just couldn't will the blush away, which was mildly horrifying. Even worse, he was actually contemplating the offer. _'Rin-san is a beautiful individual.'_

"What would the stipulations be for this...date?" he winced as he said the last word, because this entire situation was unexpected, but he wanted to know how far this was going to go.

"Nothing outside the norm," Rin replied coolly, choosing not to comment on the other man's weird choice of wording. "I pick you up, take you somewhere nice, and we have a good time. Everything'll be on me."

Rei's ears perked up at the 'somewhere nice' part, but otherwise he agreed. "Fine," he said, fixing his glasses, "but I just have a few questions."

"Shoot." Rin was actually excited the guy said yes, but a cool guy such as himself couldn't let that show on his features.

"I don't want to go to dinner or the movies."

Rin frowned slightly. "That's not a question. And if that's the case, where do you want to go?"

"The Chouei Butterfly House."

"B-Butterfly house?" Rin already had a feeling the guy was eccentric—now that he remembers, the guy did have butterflies decorating the outside of his apartment—but he was not expecting this. "Why there?"

"Because it's full of beautiful specimen! P-Plus you're the one taking me on the date, right? Then I get to decide where we go by default." Rei pushed his glasses up once more, his face heating up.

"Said who? That's not how this works, four-eyes!" Rin argued, the exasperation starting to show on his face.

"It's the logical thing to do. As the dater, you have the burden of swooping me, the datee, off my feet. In all actuality, I'm doing you a favor."

Rin was dumbfounded...never has he tried pursuing someone and have them give a headache this quickly. His train of thought was just—

"Okay, okay, damn! The butterfly garden or whatever is fine," he ground out, pinching the bridge of his nose. _'Relax, Matsuoka. You asked for this.'_ Rin took a deep breath and asked, "When are you free?"

"This Saturday at noon should suffice," he said. "I'll meet you there since I work nearby."

"Cool. It's a date then." Despite the pain the blue-haired man caused him just a minute ago, Rin found himself sporting a small smile, secretly excited for Saturday. "I have to finish up here, so I'll see you Saturday." Just as he was about to turn around and clean up the rest of his truck, Rei spoke up again.

"Uh, Matsuoka-san-"

"Call me Rin."

"Rin-san, how will I b-be able to reach you? In case of an emergency were to happen, although there's probably only a 5% chance that—"

Rin let out a chuckle at that one. _'This guy is too innocent for his own good.'_ With a simpered look, Rin purred, "Well, well, well. Rei, if you wanted my number, all you had to do was ask." He grabbed the marker from his utility belt, clicked it, and held out his palm. "Let me see your hand for a sec."

Hesitantly, Rei reached forward, the sharp-toothed man caressing the back of his hand as he grasped it. He stepped forward, pushing Rei's sleeve up his arm and scribbled the digits along his forearm. Once he capped the marker, he looked a blushing Rei in the face. "Don't be afraid to drop a line," he said, not waiting for a response as he hopped back onto his truck.

Rei stood there, seemingly frozen to the ground. He weakly nodded at Rin's words, and made his way back to where Nagisa was waiting for him.

* * *

As soon as he reared the corner, he bumped into Nagisa, and the blond had his signature 'all-knowing' look on his face. _'He probably saw everything,'_ Rei thought, awaiting a response from the shorter man.

Nagisa did not disappoint. "So, Rei-chan...how did it go?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Rei gulped, fixing his glasses nervously. "Surprisingly well, actually." The megane desperately wanted to leave it at that, but there was no way he would get away so easily.

"'Surprisingly well,' huh?" Nagisa teased in a mocking voice. "You guys sure had a long conversation...you sure you didn't talk about anything else besides your broken glasses?"

"I'm positive."

"Rei-chan, you're a horrible liar!"

"I-I'm not lying!" Rei tried to sound resolute, he really did, but with one look at Nagisa he knew that he had failed. "Alright, fine! You're annoyingly persistent."

"Yeah, yeah, so what did the hot mailman say?"

"He agreed to reimburse me."

"Okay, aand—?"

"W-We're going on an...outing."

There was a long pause. Rei feared what the smaller man would say, but nothing prepared him for the other's outburst.

"Oh my gosh, Rei-chan! I can't believe this! I'm so proud of you! I have to tell Mako-chan right away! How did he—"Rei quickly slammed his hand over Nagisa's mouth.

"Nagisa-kun! You shouldn't be so loud, especially when we're still in the part of the building were non-employees aren't allowed! I won't answer anything until we are 100% in the clear-"

The blond dragged Rei by the hand, efficiently cutting him off. He led the taller man away from the back of the building, checking around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. Without any warning, they dashed towards the front, going back the way they came.

* * *

Seijuurou was glancing at his team chart for the day when he caught two running figures from the corner of his vision. He scowled, because clearly security wasn't doing their jobs. Or he could just be imagining things, but he felt the former was more likely to be true.

"Oi, Nitori!"

"Y-Yes sir!" The silver-haired male from the sorting department was in front of him in seconds flat.

"You wouldn't happened to have seen two civilians lingering back here, would you?" If someone had truly snuck into the strictly employee-only area, Nitori would have definitely seen them. He had sharp eyes, after all.

Nitori stammered a bit. "N-No captain! I've been focused on my sorting duties, s-sir."

Seijuurou leaned in close, so that he was only inches away from the other's face. He noticed how the other man stuttered, and how nervous he looked now, but he let it go. "Alright, just checking. Get back to work."

"Yes, captain!" Nitori heaved a deep breath as he headed back to his station, both on edge and relieved that Nagisa and his friend were almost caught. _'That could've ended badly,'_ he thought, shuddering at the image of his furious captain.

* * *

"_No way!"_

"Yes way! I know, I couldn't believe it either."

"Did you really have to call him? We only have a few minutes left on the train, and we all live on the same street!"

After leaving the post office, Nagisa and Rei had boarded the train that would take them back to their apartment complex. Not even a minute after getting on, Nagisa was quick to phone Mako-chan and tell him the good news, much to Rei's chagrin.

"Aww, Rei-chan, don't be embarrassed! It's just Mako-chan! And this is really good news, don't you think?" said Nagisa, his enthusiasm clear in his tone and all over his face.

"_Nagisa, you should tone it down a bit..."_ Makoto knew that the blond was happy, but he also knew that his excitement when fluster Rei.

"Indeed, you should stop being so loud, Nagisa-kun," Rei said, looking around the train only to find several pairs of eyes staring at them.

"You guys are no fun. Excuse me for being happy for you Rei-chan! I just never thought this would ever happen. Like ever." Nagisa's face was stone-cold serious.

"H-Hey!" Rei shouted.

"_That was harsh, Nagisa..."_ chided Makoto.

"C'mon, Rei-chan, I was just teasing! Now tell us, how did _Rin_ ask you out?" the blond put extra emphasis on the delivery man's name.

"_Oh, you didn't tell me he had a feminine name, too!"_ Makoto exclaimed, the new development claiming his undivided attention.

Rei fixed his glasses, a light blush dusting his cheeks. "W-Well, it wasn't like a proposal or anything," he stammered. "It's just part of our personal reimbursement agreement. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Oh, I'm sure," Nagisa said, rolling his eyes comically. "So what kind of date is it? Will you have a deep conversation over dinner? Or will he comfort you at a horror movie showing?"

"Neither. We're going to the Chouei Butterfly House to marvel at the most beautiful butterfly specimen Japan has to offer," Rei said, violet eyes shining brightly.

"Ehhh?!" howled Nagisa.

"_That's Rei, for you..."_ Makoto shook his head gently.

"What a great idea! Will you be able to capture live ones for your collection?" the blond asked.

"No. Most butterfly houses ban visitors from capturing the specimen, and this one is no exception. I will be taking plenty of pictures instead," the megane said happily.

"_Excuse me, Rei, but don't you think it would have been better to do something a little more...low key? It seems like going to the butterfly house will only fuel your hoar-I mean, collecting..."_ the brunette said, his voice fading out as he tried to word what he wanted to say carefully.

But Rei did not let Makoto's slip-up go unnoticed. "It's not hoarding. I'm extremely meticulous with what I choose to collect and where I store it—everything is organized, so it's not hoarding, it is collecting. And he let me decide the location of our outing, so I chose the place where I would be the most comfortable," Rei said matter-of-factly.

"_I guess that's true,"_ Makoto replied, deflated. He honestly believed Rei's 'collecting' habits were harmful, but he still wanted to be supportive, not argumentative.

"Ah, there's our stop! I'll call you later Mako-chan."

"_Okay, goodbye Nagisa, Rei."_

"Bye." Once he closed his cellphone, the two men exited the train, the blond pestering Rei for more details as they walked a few more blocks to their complex.

* * *

"Bring it on, bring on, if you've got what it takes to survive some bring it on..." Rin sang, entering his apartment and closing the door behind him.

"Welcome home big bro!"

"Thank—wait what the fuck! Gou?!" he staggered backwards, covering his heart with his hand because damn, his little sister almost gave him a heart attack. "What are you doing here? I thought you were back at your dorm!"

Gou giggled, amused that she had scared Rin that much. "I got bored, so I decided to come visit. And you should work on your language. And for the last time, I told you to call me Kou!"

"Yeah, well, you should work on not coming into someone's apartment _without telling them_."

"Oh, boohoo, it's just me! I'm surprised you were that startled. That must mean you're hiding something."

"I'm not hiding anything—"

"Oh yeah? Then why were you singing? You never sing!"

"I-I wasn't singing!" he replied, blushing. "I was rapping, there is a difference."

"Well, whatever, it's weird and out of character for you, because that means you're in a good mood. What happened?"

Rin smirked, making his way to the kitchen. As he opened the fridge, he said, "Oh, nothing really. Drove around town, delivered some packages, asked a guy out on a date...nothing special. You hungry?"

"Yeah, actually I—wait, what? Oh, my gosh!" she covered her mouth with her hands, so the last part she spoke was a little muffled, but then she started clapping and Rin wondered if it was really such a surprise that he had a date. "What does he look like? Is he cute? Does he have well-defined musculature?"

Rin looked thoughtful for a moment. "He's tall, has short blue hair, wears red glasses...typical hot nerd type. And I couldn't tell exactly how muscly he was since, ya know, he was wearing clothes. But he looks like he works out." He turned around to gauge his younger sister's reaction, and she had that smitten look about her that she always has whenever someone mentions male anatomy.

"He sounds amazing! Oh, that reminds me. How is Mikoshiba-kun?"

"Still annoying as hell. He won't stop asking about you."

"Ahh, perfect! Maybe I'll actually give him my number now that I know he's been so loyal." She tried to hide her smile, knowing that Rin would take the bait.

He didn't disappoint. "No you won't. You're 21 and still in college and he's, like, 26. Not happening."

"You're right, it's not happening...because it already did! HA!" She swung her phone around by the chain for a few seconds and made a break for the guest room that she slept in whenever she stayed over.

"Goddammit Gou!" Rin was about to chase after her, but the phone vibrating in his pocket stopped him. _'I swear if it's Seijuurou...'_

Much to his surprise, it wasn't his boss, but the guy he asked out earlier. _'Didn't expect for him to use the number so quickly,'_ Rin thought. _'Didn't take him to be the bold type, but he's just full of surprises.'_

He flipped the phone open, answering it immediately. "Is this R-Rin-san?" he heard the other guy on the line mumble.

"Yeah, it's me, _Rei_." Rin couldn't resist purring his name, he loved to tease the guy.

"Oh. W-Well I was just calling to make sure the number worked, that's all."

"Mhm."

"Well I see the number works so good evening! I'll see you Saturday!"

"Wai—"

Before Rin could say anything in response, the other man hung up. Normally, the redhead would be upset with anyone who cut him off, but he just covered his mouth with his hand and blushed fiercely, because...

_'This guy is too damn cute!'_

* * *

And that concludes chapter 5, but don't fret because next chapter will definitely be a treat :) I remember one of my reviewers-**haruxchan** I believe-asked about a little Seijuurou x Gou action, and I can't promise too much but I hope the hints I dropped in this chapter were good enough for now :P Chapter 6 should be up by next weekend (between the 18th and the 20th) so until then my faithful readers! Oh, and a review or two would be nice, although I'm happy just to know that people follow and favorite my story every now and then :DD


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